• SKDB is evolving into an “apt-get for hardware”: a YAML-driven package manager that stores CAD files, BOMs, and auto-generated assembly instructions; recent commits add a “tag_hack” that lets PyYAML skip unknown custom tags (!thread, !package) with yaml.add_multi_constructor and dummy objects so the loader never crashes.

• The project’s metadata schema debate centers on whether a universal, self-describing format for all engineering artifacts is feasible; skeptics liken it to natural-language understanding, while proponents cite Debian’s .control files and extensible YAML as evidence that maintainers and clean data can keep the system coherent.

• Practical packaging examples now include reorganized lego and screw packages whose metadata.yaml explicitly list required Python classes and geometry/thread interfaces, with the goal that Package("lego") auto-loads its data.yaml on instantiation.

• Two 57 MB microfluidics archives (http://filebin.ca/ordqrh, http://filebin.ca/ayxuh) were released, containing printable bearings, printable stepper motors driven by fluidic circuitry, and “chemical factory” designs; a 5 000-page paper archive is also mirrored at http://adl.serveftp.org/papers/microfluidics/.

• Neuroscience discussions highlight frustration with MRI/CT-derived, algorithm-averaged brain coordinates and a desire for a universal, connectome-compatible coordinate system; meanwhile, 2.3 GB of BIRN neuro-imaging data was mirrored offline and high-resolution mouse-brain atlases (17.9 µm isotropic MRI) were shared.

• Cryonics economics were dissected: Alcor’s $30 k neuro-preservation flat-rate, student discounts, and routing life-insurance for ~$15/month payments; Cryonics Institute (Michigan) was noted to be legally a cemetery run by only two people.

• DIY biohacks in progress include a wearable heat-exchanger prototype, an unlabeled “blank” keyboard test, and a RepRap build at a local hackerspace where ten stepper motors were sourced for $2 each.

• Factor e Farm experienced a personnel shake-up: Marcin reportedly expelled DIY-transhumanist Jeremy and agriculturalist Ben, leaving only Marcin and a 50-year-old Austrian volunteer named Inga, opening potential collaboration or relocation opportunities.